The Psychology of Romantic Relationships

Dr. Ami Sha'ked is a couples and sex therapist for over four decades. He hods a PhD in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. Sha'ked was a post-doctoral research fellow at the Rehabilitation Research Institute (1974-1975). Dr. Sha'ked was an Assistant professor of psychology and the head of the Graduate Program in Rehabilitation Psychology at Indiana University-Purdue in the USA (1975-1978). In 1996 he was appointment to clinical professorship of psychology at Fairleigh-Dickenson University in New Jersey, and served as dean of the Psychology Program of FDU extension in Israel. In 1979 Sha'ked founded the Institute for Sex Therapy, Education and Research at Shiba Medical Center served as Director until 1996. Dr. Sha'ked is the Founding Editor of Sexuality and Disability Journal (A Journal Devoted to the Psychological and Medical Aspects of Sexuality in Rehabilitation and Community Settings). Currently Sha'ked is the Dean of the Psychology Faculty at the College of Law and Business in Ramat-Gan, Israel.Ami Rokach, Ph.D. A clinical psychologist, a member of the psychology dept. at York University in Toronto. His therapeutic and research interests include loneliness, sexuality, couple & sex therapy, anxiety and phobias, traumatic experiences and personal growth, stress management, and palliative care. After 35 years of ‘doing’ psychology he is still intrigued by human nature, people’s suffering, and the real opportunity that we all have to grow, flourish, and reinvent ourselves despite obstacles and painful experiences.Dr. Erez Zverling teaches social psychology, organizational behavior and statistics at the College of Law and Business, Ramat Gan. In his research, he examines the effects of social power in close relationships and social identity. He is the author of The Power to Care: Effects of power in Intimate Relationships.

• 1. Introduction2. Accurate empathy in romantic relationships3. Intimacy, the heart and soul of romantic relationships4. Don’t get list: Love-maps in romantic relationships5. Attachment in intimate relationships6. Attitude alignment in close relationships7. Creating, maintaining and sharing positive emotions: Capitalization of positive emotions8. Feeling and expressing gratitude9. Interdependence is key to well-functioning marriage10. Marital commitment11. Respect and its benefits12. The power to influence romantic partners13. The willingness to sacrifice in romantic relationships14. Martial satisfaction15. Supporting our romantic partner16. Self-expansion and its effect on martial intimacy and sexual desire17. The centrality of trust in romantic relations18. Loneliness: When a marriage does not enhance a sense of belonging19. The centrality of communication in marriage20. Accommodating partner’s destructive behavior21. Casual attributions and conflict in intimate relations22. Managing conflicts in romantic relationships23. Locus of control in romantic relationships24. The effects of emotional regulation on the couple25. The effects of dialectic tension26. Narcissism and its influence on intimacy and sexuality27. The many faces of forgiveness28. Managing relational stress29. Maintaining and strengthening the marital relationship